Opera Idols

The blog of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions Eastern Region, featuring interviews with judges and singers and providing background information about the application process and auditions. We also have great articles on opera in general

Kidon Choi: I am from Seoul, South Korea and did my undergrad in music at Hanyang Univ. in Korea, in voice performance. I am now a Master student at Manhattan School of Music.

OI: When did you know you wanted to be an opera singer?

KC: When I started to study voice for being an opera singer.

OI:Do you remember the first opera you saw?

KC: Rigoletto is the first opera that I saw. That opera influenced me to become an opera singer.

OI: What roles have you performed? Any opera houses you would like to perform at?

KC: I performed Rodomonte from Orlando Paladino, Peter from Hänsel und Gretel, Rigoletto from Rigoletto, Amonasro from Aida, and Germont from La Traviata. I would like to perform Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera House.

MetOpera National Council Eastern Region

The Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions is a program designed to discover promising young opera singers and assist in the development of their careers. The auditions are held annually in fourteen Regions of the United States and Canada.

Many of the world’s foremost singers, among them Renée Fleming, Susan Graham, and Eric Owens have received awards from the National Council.

I want to tell the donors how much they mean to me and all the singers that they help. They are a lifeline for us and I can personally say that, through the Met competition, they helped me to just keep going in an extremely difficult industry. Through their giving, they gave me the means to be able to put food on the table, keep studying, and keep singing. I will always, ALWAYS be grateful for their generosity. - Tenor Joseph Dennis - 2015 Grand Finals Winner